Wedge politics

Wedge politics is a term that emerged in American politics in the mid-1980s and entered public commentary on Australian politics from the late 1990s. It is sometimes used loosely to describe any policies or statements that set the interests of one group of Australians against another group, rather than uniting them. More specifically, wedge politics usually refers to an electoral strategy. This strategy involves a party emphasising a policy or idea that its own supporters will mostly find palatable or inoffensive but that will deeply divide supporters of an opposing party. The idea or policy will typically draw on a negative stereotype about a group of people. The party adopting wedge politics hopes to keep its own support intact but drive a wedge into its opponent's camp, making it hard for the opposing party to react either for or against the policy or idea without losing some of its supporters or at least weakening their commitment.

Those who use the term wedge politics usually see it as an illegitimate tactic, one to which only other parties would stoop. This is partly because wedge politics is associated with appeals to base fears around issues like welfare, race and security. In the 2001 election, for example, John Howard and the Coalition parties were accused of wedge politics when they deliberately made Middle Eastern and Asian asylum seekers coming to Australia on boats a central campaign issue.